7 Common Branding Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

"Strong brands are built on the basis of sound business practice and a great brand experience. When solid fundamentals are accompanied by a clear, compelling brand proposition and a strong sense of momentum, a brand is likely to increase both sales and shareholder value."
– Peter Walshe

Brand Strategy for Small Business

Creating a brand that really sticks in the mind of your potential customers is easier than you might think.

To assist your brand development process, read on to discover the top seven branding mistakes that you need to avoid in order to improve your brand and grow your business effectively.

1. Lack of Strict Brand Guidelines

Brand guidelines ensure your brand is represented consistently across all media – both offline and digital.

Brand guidelines refer to the documentation and description of how your logo and associated brand collaterals are to be implemented across all media. This ensures consistency and professionalism in the presentation of your company at all times while building brand recognition.

Before you set out to create a brand, consider these important guidelines first. Incorporate all the logos within your company into one easily identifiable brand to make it easier for people to remember. This means to carefully consider the colors of the logo, the tagline of your business, distinctive fonts, images, mascots, and the voice behind all your promotional videos - to ensure the a strong and consistent presentation of your company to customers.

2. Underestimating Your Brand Power

People purchase from the brands they know.

Effective branding will create a real point of difference between your company and your industry competitors. The better your brand and the stronger your profile - the more sales and potential leads. Do not underestimate the power of a great brand.

3. Branding That’s Built on the Latest Trend

A simple approach to brand development that is not restricted to the latest trend is best.

To see how simple an effective brand can be, consider how little the branding for Coca Cola products have changed in the last 130 years. The style of the font has modified slightly as the decades have unfolded, but the Coca Cola brand-mark has always retained the same basic design concept.

Try to make your brand design as simple as possible so that it will stand the test of time.

4. Cheating Your Brand of Consistency

If you need to incorporate your brand into a promotional flyer or advertising campaign, never cheat your brand by throwing together a new design just for the sake of grabbing attention.

Effective branding is built on consistency and reliability.

If your next campaign demands unique colors and style and you wish to change your brand colors or fonts just one time – beware! You may damage any brand recognition your company has established so far.

5. Watered Down Brand Solutions

An effective brand will always resonate with its target market.

Never go too far by opting for a brand design that is so simple that it bears no relevancy to your niche. Always review your branding from your client’s point of view.

Ensure your logo and brand can easily show your customers and prospects exactly what your business is all about.

6. Failure to Monitor Your Brand Amongst Competitors

One of the biggest branding mistakes that many companies make is that they become complacent about monitoring the usage of their brand.

Be vigilant about who uses your brand without consent from your company. If you have a new competitor on the block and they simply make a few modifications to your logo and call it their own, make certain your team is on the ball and pursuing legal action if necessary.

7. Too Many Brand Transformations

Every company experiences transformations during their years of business. Early on you may have produced one type of logo and now you create a variation of that same them.

Don't change your brand too often. Rolling out a new logo too quickly may confuse your customers when it comes time to buy from you again.

Is your brand building your business success?

Roundhouse has been providing world class brand design and brand strategy services for more than 12 years. Our team of fully qualified designers can help you grow your business and increase your customer base with a custom brand solution tailored to your unique requirements.

Get started now. Contact us here.